schrodingers_hat - 18-10-2013 at 18:06
I realize this is probably a really F*ckin obvious answer and will give most of you a good laugh but can anyone give a detailed explanation of the rxn
mechanism of H2O and CO2 to form carbonic acid? (maybe the reason I can't find it online is because its so damn obvious an answer??) I assume the
water donates a proton to become OH, then i suppose this happens again allowing the O from the H2O to bond to the Carbon? I suppose this might be that
obvious but I'm not sure if this would be thermodynamic enough to work? Would some kind soul be able to look past the laughablness of this answer to
provide some insight? And for bonus points, I've read that the equilibrium concentration is rather low, are there any catalysts that could increase
the concentration in favor of carbonic acid formation? Thx in advance.
bfesser - 18-10-2013 at 19:02
Did you try Googling "carbonic acid mechanism"? I see plenty of relevant results.
WGTR - 18-10-2013 at 20:53
I don't know about the rest of your question, but as far as I know a catalyst doesn't affect the equilibrium of a reaction.
Metacelsus - 19-10-2013 at 07:25
If you want to shift the equilibrium, you could increase the pressure of the carbon dioxide. WGTR is right; catalysts only affect reaction rate, not
equilibrium.